


Five Things That Didn’t Change When Dean and Cas Started Dating (and one that did)

by firefly124



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-27 15:43:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12585176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firefly124/pseuds/firefly124
Summary: Dean’s kind of surprised at how little seems to have changed since he and Cas started dating.  It had felt earth-shattering enough when they got to this point that it seemed like their lives should have turned upside down.  But they didn’t.  That was good, probably.  Except it was also probably weird, and it worried him every so often.





	Five Things That Didn’t Change When Dean and Cas Started Dating (and one that did)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yunie1281](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Yunie1281).



> Many thanks to for organizing the Fandom Loves Puerto Rico auction, and to Yunie1281 for bidding on me and giving me this great prompt!

Dean’s kind of surprised at how little seems to have changed since he and Cas started dating. It had felt earth-shattering enough when they got to this point that it seemed like their lives should have turned upside down. But they didn’t. That was good, probably. Except it was also probably weird, and it worried him every so often.

**Movie Night**

Movie nights are the same as they’ve always been. Dean nukes an entire box of microwave popcorn, Cas nitpicks the historical accuracy of whatever-the-fuck (including shit that’s set in the future, which is just rude), and Sam complains that the book was better (or would be, if there wasn’t already a book). It was just so … them, and it was awesome. 

Dean supposes he had some idea about how he and Cas would have to be all wrapped up in each other and spend the whole movie making out like teenagers, but then, they don’t really watch the kinds of movies that works for. At least, not on movie night. And not in front of Sam.

Not that Sam would care. He’d already been plenty scarred by walking in on Dean with, well, plenty of other people. A little making out was nothing compared to that. Still, it just didn’t … fit. 

Sometimes Dean worries that Cas might be bothered by that. He’s never had a normal dating experience, and wasn’t making out at the movies kind of the definition of a normal dating experience? (Not that Dean had had many of those either. There wasn’t exactly money to take chicks to the movies when he was a teenager, and not much point if John was going to drag them to another town in a week or so anyway. Still, Cas deserved normal, and he wasn’t getting it.) Did he feel like Dean was embarrassed of him? 

Cas smiles while he gives his critiques, though, and chomps gleefully on the popcorn, which really doesn’t lend itself to making out anyway. He doesn’t look disappointed or upset or anything else. So Dean doesn’t push it. He just sits back and enjoys the weird normalcy until they catch a case.

**The Impala**

Sam’s legs are just too long for him to ride in the backseat unless he’s going to try and lie across the whole seat … which also isn’t long enough. So Cas still mostly rides back there unless Sam stays behind to research. That’s weird, right?

They should totally be riding together in the front seat so they could maybe hold hands, steal a kiss at red lights, and shit like that. That’s what people do when they date. Isn’t it? 

Except they don’t even do that when they’re the only two in the car. Mostly they’re focused on whatever case they’re working, which really doesn’t tend to be hand-holdy material. Maybe they would if they were driving for a long time rather than just going from motel to crime scene to monster lair, but Dean supposes they’ll find that out if and when they’re the only two headed to a case or something. 

Cas doesn’t seem to mind this either. When Dean sneaks looks into the rearview mirror, Cas is generally either reading something or looking intently out the window. Once or twice, he meets Dean’s eyes in the mirror and smiles. So apparently this is all a-okay with him.

Still weird, though.

**Diners**

If anything was supposed to change, surely it was where they sat when it was time to eat. But somehow, it’s as random as ever who sits where. If it’s just the three of them and a round table, then they end up pretty evenly spaced around it. Add in someone else, maybe Claire and/or Jody, and things maybe get more squished. More to the point, there’s no guarantee that there won’t be someone (or several someones) between Dean and Cas.

This time, it’s Mary, Jody, Claire, Garth, Sam, Dean, and Cas, and they had to add a table to the end of a booth just to fit them all. Plenty of seat options that way, right? And yet somehow, Cas ends up in one corner with Claire (okay, maybe she wants to talk to him about something for a bit, which, weird, but okay) while Dean ends up at the complete opposite corner with his butt turning numb on the worst wooden chair ever. 

He may possibly have angled for that once Garth, Mary, and Sam piled into the opposite side of the booth from Cas, because he’d rather be at the furthest point and still able to at least _see_ his damn boyfriend. Who’s busy listening intently to something Garth is saying, actually, meanwhile Claire’s talking to Mary and Jody’s talking to Sam, leaving Dean just staring like a creeper until their food arrives.

And Cas catches him. Of course he does. And he smiles so wide his eyes crinkle, which may possibly have something to do with Dean knocking over his coffee, which he’ll never admit to. But the main thing was, apparently neither Cas nor anybody else thinks they’re supposed to sit next to each other when it’s time to eat. Not that they’d just sit there making goo-goo eyes at each other or anything if they did, but it just seems a little … weird. Or not-weird. It’s weird that it’s not-weird.

Dean’s grateful when the waitress finally does bring their food, including a fresh coffee for him, because he should really be thinking about the case they were supposed to be working, not about freakin’ seating arrangements.

**Mornings**

Castiel, angel of the Lord, multi-dimensional wavelength of celestial intent, is very definitely not a morning person. He doesn’t even sleep. Not really. And yet, once Dean and Sam start getting up and moving, Cas is grumpy until Dean makes him some coffee. (Okay, the coffee’s for everyone, but Cas always gets the first cup, because grumpy.)

This has always been true, but Dean had sort of thought maybe it might change once they were dating.  
Dean wonders about that as he tears open the pre-measured packet of motel coffee and pours the grounds into the filter 

“Good morning, Dean,” Cas says from the little table by the window, his expression and voice indicating that he doesn’t think there’s much good about it at all.

“Coffee’s brewing,” Dean says as he finally stabs the button to make it start.

“Good.” Cas sits down and glares at the machine. If he wants it to hurry up that badly, why doesn’t he just mojo it into brewing faster?

The motel room door opens, and Sam bursts in, sweaty from running.

“Coffee smells good,” he says. “Gonna go shower.”

“You sure you don’t need to sleep?” Dean asks Cas, hoping he doesn’t sound worried.

“No, Dean,” Cas replies. “Just coffee.”

Dean grabs a cup and fills it for Cas mug and fill it as soon as the stream of coffee turns into a slow drip. That gets him a smile as Cas wraps his hands around it as if warming them with the steaming brew.

That smile, though. That hasn’t changed, either. Give Cas the first cup of coffee, and he’s happy. So Cas is still grumpy in the mornings. So what? Dean knows what makes him happy, and that hadn’t changed either. It’s all good.

**Cases**

Considering how much else hasn’t changed, Dean really shouldn’t be thrown by the fact that they still handle cases the same way they always did. If the three of them split up, it’s all about logic. Research? Sammy takes it. Recon that requires better-than-human senses? Cas takes it. Interview the locals? Sam and/or Dean take it and try desperately not to let Cas talk, preferably by sending him to do recon.

It makes sense. It really does. It always did, so why should it change, right? Except … sometimes Dean kind of wants to invent research just so that Sam can go bury himself in the library and leave Dean and Cas to deal with the rest. Because even though, yeah, Cas still has a lot to learn in terms of “people skills,” he’s getting better, and it makes Dean’s heart do cartwheels to see it. Which can only happen if they’re working together.

Sometimes Dean thinks Cas feels the same way. There’s this look that is there and then gone when Sam suggests that Cas go scope out the spooky building in the middle of the day, since he’s the only one who can go invisible. Maybe Dean’s imagining it, but it does look like Cas is disappointed for about a micro-second before he gives in and accepts the logic of it with a firm nod and a gravelly, “Of course.”

Maybe they should think about changing this up a bit. Except Dean’s not sure how to have that conversation. What if he’s wrong about Cas being disappointed when they don’t get to work together? What if Sam laughs at him? What if _Cas_ laughs at him? 

Yeah, no. They should stick with what works. 

No wonder nothing changes.

**Cases Gone Wrong**

The one thing that does change, though, now _that_ Dean is totally fine with. Kissing, sex, all that stuff is awesome. It’s especially awesome when they get to be in their own room (Cas still calls it Dean’s room, but Dean’s working on that) in the bunker and Sam has the sense to find an elsewhere to be. But a motel will do in a pinch. So will the backseat of the Impala.

It’s slightly less awesome when Dean wakes up to chapped lips pressed against his forehead as strong arms pull him close, the coppery smell of blood the second thing Dean notices (and he’s pretty sure it’s his own). The flow of grace pulsing through his body, fixing whatever the hell just got shot, bit, clawed, or crushed this time, is warm and welcome. So’s the kiss, for that matter. But the salt water dripping into his hairline means Cas is hurting, and that is not okay.

“’Mfine,” Dean manages to mumble.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Cas snaps before resting his forehead against Dean’s. And okay, it’s not exactly the first time he’s put Dean back together, so if anyone would know whether or not Dean’s fine, it’s Cas. But the tears don’t let up.

“Sam?” Dean asks.

“Getting the car.” 

Okay, good. Not the reason for tears, then. Is there someone else?

“That was a dumbass move, Hasselhoff,” Claire’s voice comes from somewhere on the other side of whatever room or building they’re in.

Right. That was what happened.

“Excuse me for not letting you be vamp chow,” Dean mumbles.

“You both need to be more careful,” Cas says, pulling back and looking Dean in the eyes.

And that just … how can Dean mean that much to someone like Cas? His eyes say that he does, maybe that he always has, just now he’s allowed to say it. It’s mind-blowing, and Dean can’t find the words to … hell, he just can’t find words.

“Car’s here,” Claire says. “I’ll just go wait with Sam till you’re done having your … moment.”

Is that what this is? Yeah, Dean kind of thinks it is.

“I’ll try, Cas,” he says. “But you know me.”

Cas nods as shadows flicker through those endless blue eyes. Dean can practically feel the emotions that go with them: fear, anger, resignation, and he can hardly even think the last one but, yeah, love, too. There’s really only one thing to do in response to all that.

He pulls Cas down for a proper kiss.

Yeah, this is the part that had been missing all those years. And maybe this is the only thing that’s really changed since they started dating (even though they don’t seem to be able to pull off an actual, you know, date), but Dean’s okay with that. And aside from the near-death experience part, Cas seems to be too.


End file.
